Cheap wifi privacy device pulled with no explanation

A planned Defcon talk around a low-cost privacy device called ProxyHam has been cancelled.

A planned Defcon talk around a low-cost privacy device called ProxyHam has been cancelled.

ProxyHam was billed as a router broadcasting on a 900MHz connection which the owner could then connect to from a considerable distance of up to several miles away. The parts required were relatively simple and cost less than $200 according to Ars Technica.

The project was to be the subject of a talk at the Las Vegas Defcon conference in August, given by it’s inventor Ben Caudill, founder of security consultancy Rhino Security Labs.

“From the US to China and beyond, anonymity on the internet is under fire – particularly for whistleblowers. National interests are pushing for greater control and monitoring of internet content, often invoking harsh punishments for informers and journalists, if caught. While a range of technologies (such as ToR) can provide some level of anonymity, a fundamental flaw still exists: a direct relationship between IP address and physical location. If your true IP is ever uncovered, it’s game over – a significant threat when your adversary owns the infrastructure.

To resolve this issue, I present ProxyHam, a hardware device which utilizes both WiFi and the 900Mhz band to act as a hardware proxy, routing local traffic through a far-off wireless network – and significantly increasing the difficulty in identifying the true source of the traffic. In addition to a demonstration of the device itself, full hardware schematics and code will be made freely available.”

However, as Business Insider reports, Rhino Security Labs tweeted recently: “Effective immediately, we are halting further dev on #proxyham and will not be releasing any further details or source for the device.”

In a followup tweet the company said: “Proxyham was not sold but can’t go into any further details on the research or corresponding @_defcon_ talk.”